Donald Trump’s campaign repertoire is relatively clear. Basically, it consists of praising yourself above the green clover and denigrating everything else and everyone. However, the ex-president gets creative when it comes to nicknames for companions or political competition: “Little Rocket Man” for North Korea’s dictator Kim Jong Un has become known. Hillary Clinton, former presidential candidate, he called “crooked”, i.e. fraudulent or corrupt. He has even come up with a dozen nicknames for Joe Biden: from “Sleepy Joe” to “Joe Hiden” to “Slow Joe”.
Now there’s a new nickname for the old man in the White House. Strictly speaking, it’s an old one, one that had already seemed helpful to him in 2016: “crooked”. “I’m retiring that nickname for Hillary Clinton. I might call her ‘lovely’ or ‘beautiful Hillary’ in the future, but I definitely need ‘cheating’ for Joe Biden. From now on he shall be known as ‘Crooked Joe’ be,” said the long-term ex-president at an appearance in Manchester, New Hampshire.
As the “New York Post” reports, Trump also gave a reason: Biden only cares about enriching his own family. “Are you also wondering why he’s not doing anything about China? Why he’s not doing what he should be doing? Because he’s getting millions of dollars from China,” Trump said. He did not present any evidence for his accusation, nor is it entirely clear what exactly he was alluding to with his criticism of the US President. Recently, US conservatives have complained that the government has not taken tougher measures against China since the spy balloons were launched. In addition, the Middle Kingdom is generally considered to be the worst system opponent.
Donald Trump also works on his inner-party competitor Ron DeSantis with the help of nicknames. So he calls the governor of Florida “Ron DeSanctimonious”. Sanctimonious means hypocritical in German. Because the nickname is a little too difficult for some people, Trump shortens it to “DeSanctus” more and more often. Because of his corpulence, Trump occasionally uses “Tiny D” (the tiny one) or “Meatball Ron” (meatball).
In the US, it is not uncommon to give politicians nicknames. Often they were meant in a friendly way, as with Abraham Lincoln, who was the “honest Abe”, or with Theodore “the lion” Roosevelt. Trump, on the other hand, is not someone who would give others unnecessary credit. Almost all of the countless nicknames he has used throughout his life are offensive: “Al Frankenstein” for a former senator or “Dumbo” for the head of the Secret Service Presidential Guard. There is a Wikipedia page that lists all of his known nicknames: there are nearly 200.
Donald Trump and Joe Biden are the two most well-known US leaders who have already announced their candidacy for the presidency. Among the opposition Republicans, there may be one or the other interested party. So it is almost certain that Florida Prime Minister Ron DeSantis will throw his hat in the ring. As of now, in November 2024, it will again be a duel between Joe Biden and Donald Trump. According to current polls, the election is likely to be close. However, there are currently some proceedings against the ex-president, the outcome of which is open.
Sources: DPA, AFP, New York Post, Daily Mail, Wikipedia, Vanity Fair
